FS Digest

Pls help. Been fishing 20+ times in the last couple months and haven’t caught anything. We are about to give up :(

Me and my best friend picked up fishing as a hobby. Not necessarily to catch fish, but to enjoy the outdoors and water. Well, sure enough we haven’t caught anything. And I think my friend is about too give up entirely on the hobby. We have been fishing for bass, trout, and carp. NO. BITES. We can literally see hundreds of fish swimming past us. I wish I could record it. But still nothing. Any help would be appreciated. I’m typing this as I see countless shadows and countless fish jumping to eat. I am severely lost and sad.

Using worms for bass And corn for trout and carp with a bobber. Nothin...

--
by Littlemack2

FS Digest

I would recommend trying some lures for bass and trout.

--
by Chegg69

FS Digest

I’ll give it a shot. Should I pull and reel the slack? Or just constantly real in slowly?

--
by Littlemack2

FS Digest

As the old timers would tell ya, that’s why its called fishin, not catchin!!

I would start with: Try and identify the species of fish you are seeing. If you can id them, you can present the preferred bait.

Theres been times where I have had 10-15 trout sitting in front of me and I could cast everything, including my grandma, and they wont bite. Maybe the water temp was too warm and the trout slowed down. Maybe they saw my 8lb test when I should have been using 6lb fluro.

There are a ton of factors that change each and every time you fish. Water speed, water temp, water clarity, spawning phases, hatch color, etc etc.

Trust me, research til your eyes bleed and never quit. Feel free to message me with any questions or just for some motivation!!! Good Luck!!!

--
by nipo3487

FS Digest

You’re the man! Thanks. I read my friend your comment and he sounded motivated!

--
by Littlemack2

FS Digest

No problem!! I have had days where I catch everything and weeks where I cant get a bite. Water in my area has been terrible lately due to all the rain. My dad always told me fish arent as active when water is rising. Dont know if its true, but in my experiences, it checks out.

My point is: DONT QUIT lol!!!

--
by nipo3487

FS Digest

Wow the drought here in Cali did just end, it’s just crazy watching them all go by and eating day after day and no bites. Thanks for the motivation and tips! I’ll post a pic when we get one

--
by Littlemack2

FS Digest

For carp, you should fish the bottom, and if the trout are stocked, you may catch them there as well. Carp have downward facing mouths to primarily bottom feed, so a suspended bait is not ideal. Stocked trout are going to be looking for a sinking pellet on the bottom, or a floating one on top, so you may miss them in the middle on a float.

The worms should be getting hit by panfish at least, but if they aren't working, try crickets instead... better chance at more finicky trout, and if there are panfish like bluebill, grim, etc they should go after them. If the crickets are getting hit, it may be time to find another spot to fish.

--
by aRushinTroll

FS Digest

Thanks! Should I drop the corn to the bottom?

--
by Littlemack2

FS Digest

That's what I would try, then just keep the line as taught as you can without moving the bait/sinker around and see what happens. If you get some crickets, you can fish them on a bobber, but if fish are swimming by really close and near the surface, try fishing one with no weight if you can, just the hook on your line, so it swims around on the surface naturally before starting to sink.

--
by aRushinTroll

FS Digest

For Bass it’s pretty much understanding your fishing area, general rule of thumb is in the morning top water lures will be your best shot as the bass can see them clearly.

At night around sunset a fly rod is definitely he name of the game. For trout a fly rod will always bring in Atleast a few fish. If you aren’t comfortable learning how to fly fish which I highly recommend you do, then salmon eggs(gulp makes a cheap variant) and gulp hand mold bait will usually do well. Carp at tough and you need to be patient, I have always found a wooly bugger fly to do the trick, however once agin that would require to learn to fly fish.

For them corn will also do the job often. At the end of the day however, no matter what bait you use do a little research on your area. Go out with some polarized glasses and scope your area for fish. Try to find a good spot with fish in it and start to learn. People will usually try to tell you that fishing is luck but that’s only partially true. If you do your scouting and learn how to properly lure and land a fish, you will rarely have a bad day.

--
by TrustyPatchesss

kpt Loc: texas

Trust me, everyone has periods like this, when you don't catch anything for a while. Don't give up ! Fish are sometimes very peculiar about what they do. I have been fishing for 30 years and if lures don't work for me, I'll try live bait. You usually can always catch bass on live minnows/shad. Keep trying different things and you will eventually start catching them. Don't give up !

Martin

When fishing for trout on the bottom use a slip sinker they won't feel any resistance

h man Loc: staten island ny

hi howard here never never give up thats why its called fishing not catching. have a good time .sooner or later u will catch """

Jakestake83 Loc: Mooresville NC

Thats a strange mix of species you are after. They each respond to different stuff. I would concentrate on the bass because they will go after nearly everything. Try buying some small live bait like shiners or Shad and just let the bait drift around or you can cast and slowly retrieve it. Small crank bait lures will also work with a slow retrieve, nothing fancy but try to get lures that look like the resident bait fish. When everything else fails try worms, they are still the universal favorite of all fish.